12 Hours of Cranky Monkey

By Jay Aument:

So this past weekend, several members of Team Flying Dog traveled to Quantico, Virginia for the 12 hours of Cranky Monkey.  Quantico, you say?  Isn't that where the US Marines train?  It most certainly is!  The marines are nice enough to allow a few hundred cyclists on to the base for a good old fashioned family mountain bike race.

The course is between 9 and 10 miles long.  It consists of lots and lots of ups and downs.  None of the climbs were particularly long, but there were just so darn many of them.  It certainly wasn't my favorite course, but most of my teammates thoroughly enjoyed it.  Speaking of the team, we had a pretty decent turnout with three teams.  The first team was a three person.  Andrea and Mike Lesondak were joined by Team Captain, Herb Wright.  The second team included Diana Juliano, Jean Thompson and myself.  Charles Montour was joined by a local Frederick rider named Sally for a two person team.

Now back to the course…

The race began with a LeMans style running start around part of the pit area.  Diana, Andrea and Charles ran for their respective teams.  They grabbed their bikes and were off for the first lap.  The day started out well, but the temperature and humidity rose pretty quickly.  The course was not terribly technical, but it did include plenty of climbing overall.  There were certainly fun sections such as the tabletop descent.  The race photographer probably got some good shots on that section.  There were four aid stations with ice-cold water which we all took advantage of.

The race ran from 8AM to 8PM, which was long enough.  I know I was dead tired by the end.  Each team ended up with around 10 laps to their credit.  Both Co-ed Tri teams took 8th & 10th places, and our Co-ed Duo team grabbed 10th place as well.  No podiums this time, but I think we will be back for more next year.  That is, if the marines will still let us on base.

As always, much thanks goes out to Flying Dog Brewery, The Bike Doctor of Frederick and all our sponsors.  You all help us get out there and race!

Bike Line Spring XC @ Fairhill

By Brad Walker:

As always I want to thank Flying Dog and the Bike Dr of Frederick. This week I became a proud owner of a new Cannondale F29 Lefty and man oh man is it awesome. The shop set it up perfectly and I’m in love and I’m sure that’s not legal if not weird. So this Sunday I made the trip to Fair Hill Maryland to race in the second XC race of the Mid Atlantic Super Series which is the Bike Line Spring XC @ Fair Hill. The road trip took a little over 2 hours and was uneventful except for the I-95 traffic.

Get to the race and start getting set up to race all out for an hour or so. 

Last week’s race was a good test to see how my fitness is coming along and aside from a mechanical issue the race was good even if it is at Greenbrier which I hate riding let alone racing. I’ve been racing now for about a year and a half, and the few times that I have made the mental mistake of starting out too hard I’ve paid for it and spent the majority of the race red lining instead of racing a smart race. So I’ve learned a few things among others this year already and have tried to use my screw ups as lessons learned and try not to make the same mistakes. Maybe this is what people who have been racing for years talk about, the experience factor. Not always is the fastest rider the winner. There are so many little things that can be the differences in winning and well not winning. So I take the lessons learned so far this season and try and execute them into a strategy that will yield a win.  I have learned that just lining up to the start line and riding as hard as you can isn’t the same as a strategy and sure as heck doesn’t always yield results. As a racer I want to win, I enjoy riding and have really grown to love cycling both on the road and of course on the trail but the real reason to racing is to win. Only in racing can you be pushed harder and will come out a better cyclist and of course the experience gained is enormous. So I am a smarter racer and plan to use that experience today.

I warm up for about thirty minutes and can hear the announcer saying the Cat 2 racers will be staging in ten minutes. So I make my way to the staging area and line up with the group of guys that will be my opponents for this race and eye them up. You can never judge a book by the cover that’s for sure so I do my best to see who has legs the size of small children and have that look about them. You know the look…I know the look lol. So the stager counts us down and off we go, this is the first test to see if I can implement my strategy and follow it. Instead of starting out full steam ahead I let a few of the racers take off into the lead and I keep a solid decent pace and find myself barely passing one of the racers and landing myself in second place going into the single track of what will be a little over 7 miles of sweet single track heaven. I keep a solid pace for the first mile and I catch the leader and I can tell that he might have started out a little too hard…I know the look…I’ve had the look! So he lets me pass and I offer to work together but he can’t keep my pace so as I make my way around him and take off down the twisty fast single track of pure bliss. As you can tell I really enjoyed the trails here at Fair Hill and they were amazing.

So, back to racing…around mile 5. I start catching the back end of the groups that went on before my class and everyone is very nice allowing me to pass and I thank them of course as they will hopefully hold up the chasers and allow me to gain more of an time advantage. So I am feeling better than ever and very powerful in my pedal strokes so I just keep pushing since I’m not really sure where the chasers are. The first lap goes by pretty quick, not sure the time as I don’t use a watch or Garmin but it felt fast so I throw a few cliff shots into my mouth and push on into the last lap. The last 7 or so miles are uneventful and I never get the feeling anyone is on my tail or chasing too close so I keep pushing it and finish the race is 1^st place.  So let’s see, my strategy worked well, this isn’t always the case but today it did. The course was spectacular, the Bike Line folks were awesome, and the new Bike from the Bike Doctor of Frederick is my new best friend!! I have a nice shinny medal, a pretty cool glass, and the series lead for the time being. Next week is the Iron Hill Challenge in Delaware. I’ve only ridden there once and raced it on a single speed but from what I can remember the trails are super sweet. Thanks for reading and till next time…

Greenbrier Challenge

By Brad Walker

As always I want to thank Flying Dog Dog Brewery and of course Bike Doctor of Frederick. I can’t say enough of how great everyone is at the shop. Over the course of two years the shop has really been the best. So if you’re reading this stop by the shop and check them out and spend all your money.  Okay so I got that out of the way, so hopefully you’re still awake and or haven’t shut down your computer…

So this weekend was the 10^th Annual running of the Greenbrier Challenge at Greenbrier State Park in Hagerstown Maryland. For once the race isn’t on the same day as another popular race in the area and so this year I decided to finally race at Greenbrier. For many people, Greenbrier is a tough 5.7 mile loop that is basically mostly uphill and very little anything else. So if you don’t like steep climbs than it’s probably not a course you will like…hence why I’ve never raced here although I do most of my training at Greenbrier. So I decide for once to do the race, spend the 35 dollars and drive the 8 miles or so to the course. The weather decided to not cooperate with what I would consider ideal riding conditions…80 degrees and instead was a chilly 53. It’s not so much the temperature being cold it’s the fact that I hate breathing the chilly air into my lungs while I cling to my handlebars wondering why I do this to myself, and actually pay for my heart to be 185bpm for an hour and half. I check in and get my fancy MASS series plate and attach it to my bars and head down to watch another Flying Dog Racer take off in an earlier category. So he’s off to suck the cold air so figure it’s as good as any time to get ready and changed into the team kit. 

The cat 2 men went off starting at 11:30 so it’s still not warm enough out..yea I know I’m a complainer, well its almost the end of April I mean come on…seriously! The director counts us down and off we go, I didn’t really have much of a plan this race other than ride the loop as fast I could. So instead of deciding beforehand how I would start I decided while I was half way down the starting track along the lake and my choice of starting was an all out sprint to the top of the first climb. The spectators were all saying great things to me about how great the start was meanwhile inside my head I was already yelling at myself as I could tell I already went way past my threshold level. In other words I was hurting and hurting bad. Regardless it’s a race so I put the tough face on and keep on getting it as I know the course well and I know all I gotta do is get to the top of the big steep climb and the course is basically half over. This plan didn’t work out too well as I got a stick lodged into my rear derailleur while passing a fellow racer. So I had to un clip and throw the bike upside down and bend the derailleur back into line the best I could. I hop back on the bike and take off only to find that I have lost three of my top climbing rings in the back. Normally it wouldn’t be too big of a deal but Greenbrier has two steep climbs that require those rings. So I’m basically stuck muscling the bike up the hills wearing myself out big time. Regardless I keep on pedaling and trying to catch the two guys who are now in 1^st and 2^nd…

On the 3^rd and final lap I finally catch one of the guys on one of the big climbs and he informs me that the leader is only a minute ahead. I push it as hard as I can and decide on the last semi technical decent that maybe it’s time to go from a fully rigid bike to at least a suspension fork on the front as it really slows me down on the downhill’s as I have to pick my line a little more carefully. So I do my best to catch the leader but it’s to no avail so I finish the race in 2^nd and have a bag full of bike stuff, a nice little medal and the best part a 50 dollar check to show for my efforst. This season is starting out pretty well as I have placed in the top 3 in the last couple races. Hopefully the season keeps going well. Also I want to say great job to Flying Dog’s newest team member Nathan Hickle of Hagerstown as he won the Cat 3 race. This coming weekend is the Fairhill classic in upper Maryland. Till next time…

Scout Camp XC - Virginia Mountain Bike Series

Cat 2 Men, 18 Miles

By: Brad Walker

First as always I want to thank Flying Dog Brewery and a huge thanks to Bike Dr of Frederick as Brian, Dan, and everyone else is always very helpful, friendly, and of course helping me be the lightest racer I can be without putting me in an unsafe situation as I have been known to break everything that I touch when it comes to mountain biking! Next thanks to the group of locals that help to put on the races down in Virginia. It was my first time riding so far from home and the venue and hospitality didn’t disappoint. So I decided to do this race as a tune up race to get headed in the right direction to peaking before the Maryland State Championships at Greenbrier State Park on April 21^st which is my most important race this year. So I make the trip into the heart of Virginia and find myself in Maidens at what looked like a Boy Scout camp type of place that had a 9mile loop that they use for an 18 hour endurance race from what the locals were telling me. Mountain biking is a lot like life in general, you learn from your mistakes and try to do things different the next time in an effort to have a better outcome. Last weekend I made the critical mistake of not hydrating correctly and I paid for it dearly. Another thing that I did last race that I wanted to do differently was the type of cadence I was using. Instead of using a lower cadence and using more muscle to power the bike I wanted to use a higher cadence and use more cardio to power the bike. I could get into the reasoning such as fast/slow twitch muscle fibers but no one wants to read that crap and I don’t want to write about it. I’ve pointed out before that racing is more than riding a bike, for the majority of us non gifted athletes including myself, I need a plan and I try to stick to it and modify as needed. Like the saying goes “everyone has plan until they get punched in the mouth”. So hydration and a faster cadence is the plan today. The race director calls the cat 2 racers to the start line and my heart rate is gradually increasing in response to the adrenaline coursing through my veins. Before I know it the bell goes off and I’m sprinting down a gravel road for 50 yards before the right hand turn into single track. Having a little experience racing, I know that getting the hole shot is extremely important as it can sometimes dictate the rest of the race as passing in tight single track is difficult. I get the hole shot and three of us are already building a good lead on the chasers. I hold the pace and tire of the two riders and we hit double track down hill and my choice of a fully rigid frame keeps me from keeping the pace as I have to be a little more careful with my line. The 9 mile loop goes by in a flash and I’m sitting comfortably in 3^rd. I’m feeling pretty good and hydrating more than I can remember and the warmer temperatures have me sweating and I love every second of it. I’m using a faster cadence and my cardio is taking most of the brunt and my legs are feeling good so I keep the pace I’m on as I can’t see the leader or second place. Around mile 11 I get bridged and passed and keep close enough to stay in sight and I feel like I push it and catch up but I don’t want to burn myself out to early with plenty of time left. Mile 14 comes up quick and another racer in a different class bridges and I let him pass in an effort to get pulled for a little bit and make a late surge. It’s always nice to get pulled instead of trying to pace yourself. I have found that I can go faster and be more efficient following a slightly faster rider than riding alone. So I let this guy pull and within 2 miles of the finish I tell’em I gotta go and my plan for a higher cadence pays off as I have the energy and muscle left to drop down in a much higher gear and crush it for the last two miles. I catch the guy who had my precious podium spot and finish the race in 3^rd. Nice when a plan comes together and I have a nice glass and water bottle to show for my efforts. Till next time…

EX2 - 6 Hours of Cranky Monkey

3 Hrs Solo

by Brad Walker

First a big thanks to Flying Dog and our sponsors. Next a thanks to Ex2 adventurers for not disappointing for a great start to the season. I have never ridden at Rosaryville and I will definitely have to make the trip back down for the next 6 Hours of Cranky Monkey. So let’s see, this winter has been cold, wet, and way too long so not much time for training but the miles that were put in early are paying off as I can tell that I will be at peak racing shape earlier than last year. It is so hard to go into a race and tell yourself that it is a month early and you won’t be in the best shape so take it easy and enjoy yourself. This is of course not the way my brain thinks so every ride is a race and every race is as if it’s for the yellow jersey. Well the race directors have the 3 hour solo racers line up for the prologue of about a mile before hitting the single-track of what will be an 11 mile loop repeated as many times in 3 hours. Most races are started by classes but for some reason they started the entire 3 hour solo class together, beginners, sport, and experts. This is pretty hard as you never really totally know who you are racing. Racing bikes is a lot more than just riding a bike, there is a lot of strategy to racing mountain bikes, especially as you move up in class and become the top percent of the class you race in. Once in the top tier you will find that the times are very close and it becomes a chess match. One wrong move and you can go from leading to falling out of contention fast. So not knowing who you are racing is difficult as you can find yourself chasing someone who isn’t even a threat to your podium spot. So the race starts and I find myself in the top 5 or so riders after the first mile and heading into the single track. Around mile 3 the field starts to span out and I find myself by myself and trying to keep a consistent pace for what I would expect 3 hours racing would be for the sport class. I was assuming that times under an hour were going to be very close to being the time needed to be in contention for a spot on the box. I assumed after mile 8 that the 4 or 5 riders in front were experts and I should start pacing as the lead sport racer and race my race. The first lap comes and goes in a flash, legs are warmed up, it’s not too cold out anymore and I’m feeling great. At the end of each lap we are told to dismount and walk/jog through the timing tent, this is a little odd to me as I’m not racing as part of a team but as a solo rider, dismounting takes time and allows the chasers to catch up a little more. Regardless I dismount, jog through and I’m back on the saddle racing through the pit areas. At this time it’s not hot out and I’m not really paying attention to hydrating correctly. As a rule of thumb, I’ve always tried to drink a bottle every hour, and even more if it’s hot or I’m riding really aggressively. So I head into the single track and I can tell there is one rider on my wheel who is in my class so I take off and try to gain some distance and keep him from bridging the gap. I’m keeping a very strong pace and feeling great and the miles go by pretty quick and before I know it I’m dismounting again with a solid minute on the guy chasing me. Heading into the 3^rd lap I’m figuring it will be the last lap of the race, I have a little less than half a bottle of water left and don’t think anything of it since it’s not hot out and I’m not thirsty really, this is the bad chess move that will prove to be the difference in a podium spot and solid finish. So about mile 4 of 11 my left leg cramps extremely bad. I’ve heard of endurance riders especially talk of hydrating and cramping, it’s never been an issue of mine as I’ve never cramped during an event, after is a different story. I’ve always guzzled water from a camel pack but I’ve switched to bottles in an effort to take some weight off my body and put it on the bike. Unfortunately grabbing a water bottle on tight twisty super fast trails is pretty tricky and I’m worrying more about riding fast than hydrating. So I try to put the leg out of my mind as its hurting but not keeping me from pedaling, I go over a log and my right leg cramps up and it was a different cramp than my left. This cramp was more like a Charlie horse and I had to dismount and stretch my leg. The chaser catches me as well as another by the time I can muster the strength to get back on and push myself to ignore the pain. I take off and ride as fast as I can and another rider catches me but I can only push as hard as the legs will go. I have plenty of gas left but when I try to push harder, the cramps come back. So I sit back and pace myself to the finish. I ended up in 6^th place which isn’t too bad but it’s bad for me since I was in contention and knowing if only I had hydrated correctly I would have a nice little glass to show for my efforts! Regardless, this is racing and it’s very strategic and takes mental strength as well as physical strength. The difference in winning and losing is very thin. Next race is the Greenbrier Challenge which is home to the Maryland State Championships and happens to be my training and home course. 

Cranky Monkey Mtn Bike Series - Race #1 @ Schaeffer Farms

By Brian Weisgerber:

That was a fun course. It wasn't the same without the rest of Flying Dog there.

It was hot yesterday. Lynne completed the race after her heat exhaustion last year. She was very pleased. Jay and Harbin were pretty beat after the first lap, they rested and got back out there for the 2nd. I believe Ian came in 10th. Not sure where Di fell in the lineup. She beat Jay pretty badly though.  ;)  I managed 5th place despite finishing a little under a minute MORE than last year. The competition last year must have been much more intense. 

Great Job, GO FLYING DOG GO!!!

I have attached some of the pics Amy took…

 Ian Starr

 Dianna Juliano

 Lynne Collard

 Brad Walker

 Chris Harbin

Brian Weisgerber

RESULTS:

Brian Weisgerber – 5^th in Sport Male 35+ - 1:44 Hrs

Chris Harbin – 19^th in Sport Male 35+ - 3:13 Hrs

Jay Aument – 19^th in Sport Male 35+ - 3:13 Hrs

Ian Starr – 10^th in Sport Male 40+ - 1:51 Hrs

Diana Juliano – 7^th in Sport Female – 2 Hrs

Lynne Collard – 13^th in Sport Female – 2:11 Hrs

Denny’s Passeto – 1^st in Clydesdale – 1:39 Hrs

Brad Walker – DNF in Clydesdale

ORAMM

13th Annual Off Road Assault on Mt Mitchell

By Mike Lesondak:

First, a big shout out to all of the volunteers who kept us stocked with food and supplies at each rest station.

Let’s see, 11,000+ feet of climbing over 63 miles in Pisgah National Forest on my single speed, what could be so hard about that?  

I only set one goal for this race (besides finishing), if I could do it in 8”ish” hours, I would be more than happy.  Off we go at 8am led by the police out of town (Old Fort, NC) up Mill Creek Rd.  We peeled off Mill Creek and onto Old Rt. 70 and begin climbing up to the first single track portion of the course, “Kitsuma”.  It was pretty much hike-a-bike up Kitsuma.  This was mostly due to jamming hundreds of riders of varying skill level onto a single-track climb with no room to pass. 

From the top of Kitsuma, we coast down fast, flowy downhill back to Mill Creek Rd where we pick up the fire roads again.  Next, we climb up to Star Gap, which flew by.  I was feeling great at this point, cruised up to the top, and had a relaxing descent down to Rest Stop 2, 26 miles in. 

Now the fun starts, the 10-mile climb up to the Blue Ridge Parkway via Curtis Creek Rd.  I just settled in and kept ticking over the pedals, stopping occasionally to catch my breath or to walk a bit when I couldn’t push over the pedals anymore (the recipe for the rest of the day).  We crested the climb at the parkway and across to rest stop 3 (36 miles) after gaining approx. 2800’.  A quick fill up and back down we go only to gain it back as we ascend another fire road back up to the parkway to rest stop 4, 44 miles in. 

From here, we ride up the parkway to the second single-track portion of the course, “Heartbreak Ridge”.  It’s a short hike-a-bike up the trail to begin the long descent down Heartbreak, which was a rocky, rooty, exposed technical (fun) downhill.  We take Heartbreak all the way down to rest stop 5, 52 miles in to the home stretch.  I was feeling pretty fatigued at rest stop 5, but had avoided any major cramping and only a slight twinge in my knee at this point (It only hurt when I walked...so, simply dont walk, right?  I wish!).

Approx. 10 miles to go, unfortunately, most of that was climbing and we get to see Kitsuma again.  This time there was no bike traffic on Kitsuma, but at this stage, I was too tired to attempt to ride up it and resorted to walking.  My knee was pretty well done at this point.  It hurt to walk, but I was too tired to ride.  I basically hobbled, using my bike as a crutch all the way up Kitsuma.  I lost quite a bit of time there, as I had to stop often to give my knee a break.   However, I quite literally kept pushing on to the top.  Once there, it was down, down, down to the finish!!  I came into the finish 8 hours 32 minutes after I had started.  I was happy with that time as I completed it in 8”ish” hours.  I guess not too bad for an old, out of shape, battered up, single speeder. 

                                  Pre-ride                                              Last Rest Stop

                             Finish Line                                      Post-ride Recovery